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Thursday, September 29, 2011

Hi friends. If you're coming to my blog for the free Silhouette Studio ice cream files, click here. Not only are the ice cream files available, but I have some other fun Studio files, too.

If you stumbled upon my blog some other way, I invite you to check out ScrapStreet Magazine's blog, where I am hosting a virtual ice cream party, complete with a tutorial on how to make the cute ice cream sundae center pieces pictured here:

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Today, I thought I would try making a card for a new challenge called Just Add Ink, which posts a new challenge every Friday. The deadline to enter isn't until Wednesday and the winner is announced Thursday. There is still plenty of time to enter!!

This weeks challenge is to make a paper crafted item based on the sketch below. I decided to have a little fun and exercise some creativity in the process!! I recently bought the Stampin' Up! Balloons set. I wanted to break it out and start using it. The monkey is from The Paper Company and the balloons are from Lawn Fawn. I really like to be versatile with my stamps!!

I used Stampin' Up! ink and sponge daubers to create the sky and some baker's twine for the string on the balloons. Hope you enjoy!!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

I made another card just for fun. I just got the Lawn Fawn Admit One set from a scrapbook store that opened near my home recently. I am so excited to be able to get Lawn Fawn at a retail store!

I used the Ferris wheel and sentiment from Admit One. The Lion is from another stamp set called Jungle by The Paper Company. I created the border with Stampin' Up! paper. The striped paper is from their Designer Series Paper called Big Top Birthday.

I love being able to mix and match products from different companies to come up with a creation that fits together nicely!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Hi friends! Once again, I'm playing in the Moxie Fab World challenge. This time it's the Card Play Challenge. Cath asked us to create a paper project inspired by playing cards! I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring! (Pun intended!!) You have until October 3 to enter!! Why not give it a try!?!

I have not yet won one of these challenges yet, but I'm going to keep trying. I admit, I've felt some disappointment, but I have to keep things in perspective. I'm doing this for fun. Besides, I've seen my card-making skills improve since entering these a few months ago. Even though I haven't yet won a Moxie Fab World challenge, I've still gotten something out of it. I've made friends, learned new techniques and made better cards.

I thought I'd take the Joker angle on this one. Cath wants us to be creative and think outside the box. So far, nobody has used a Joker in their creation.

I created the jester hat from felt and used glue dots to adhere metal beads on the tips. I stamped the hearts and sentiment, which I have had in my stash forever!! I'm glad I found a good use for it! Hope you enjoy it!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Today is a special day. My husband, John, and I are celebrating our eight-year wedding anniversary. I keep thinking back to that day. I'm normally a control freak who worries that things won't turn out the way I had planned. For some reason, on our wedding day, I woke up happy, excited and eager to start my life with my soul mate.One of my bridesmaid told me I was the most calm bride she had ever seen. That's because I knew that by the end of the day, I would be married, and that is what really mattered the most. After all the wedding hoopla is over, the music will stop playing, the cake will be devoured and the wedding flowers will eventually wilt away, but we will still be married.

Here we are eight years later, still married. The wedding is now a myriad of memories, some of which were lucky enough to be captured in photos, and some that only live on in our thoughts. It was a wonderful day, but it is still a wonderful life together.

Happy Anniversary, Budgie. I love you.

If you want to see more information about this card, feel free to hop on over to the ScrapStreet Magazine Blog, where I proudly got to write my first blog post for them!

Friday, September 16, 2011

Hi everyone. Well, I finally faced my fear of rejection. I submitted one card to Paper Crafts Magazine for publication. My expectations were low because I made the card the night of the deadline. The photo came out shadowy and I didn't have time to play with my new Photoshop Elements software to touch up the lighting. Que sera sera!! At least I have my first submission behind me and I know what to expect next time.

Here is the card I created for the ABC and 123 submission. The challenge was to create a card using letters and numbers in creative and unexpected ways. Everything on this card was created solely with letters! I used different fonts, different sizes and mirrored some of the letters, but stuck to only letters.

Pretty fun, huh? The butterfly was created with two Bs and two Is. I created the sun with and O and several Is. The flower petals are made up of Us, the center is an O, the stem is an I and the leaves are two Ds!! Then, I made a fancy border with Ss. I admit that if I had more time, I would have done a few things differently, but I still like the idea of using letters and numbers to create an image.

Because it didn't make the cut, I am posting it to my blog and entering it into the Reject Blog Hop, hosted by Amber Daigre at Damask Love. See, I told you rejection wasn't so bad!!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Congratulations to Scrapstreet Magazine. Today Scrapstreet is celebrating its six year anniversary. And guess who gets the presents? YOU!!

In honor of the big day, Scrapstreet Magazine is giving away tons of scrapbooking yummies - $100 worth to be exact. Some of the yummies are brand new releases from the recent CHA show including: pretties from Pink Paislee, Theresa Collins, Webster's Pages, Simple
Stories, Jillbean Soup, American Crafts--to name just a few.

And here's where it gets really good. You have five - yes FIVE - ways to enter. All you have to do is:

1. Leave them a comment on their blog
2. Join as a follower and leave another comment telling us so (if you are already a follower, tell us that. it counts!)
3. Blog about us and comment with the link.
4. Join our facebook followers--and comment about it. (if you are
already a follower, post on our wall and then come back and comment
about it).
5. Tweet or facebook about our Anniversary and comment about it.

So drive on over to the Scrapstreet blog and enter to win all the yummies!!!

Saturday, September 3, 2011

I have an announcement that I am so happy to share with you. I am honored to have been selected as a staff writer for ScrapStreet Magazine! I can't wait to work with the very talented team of paper crafters and designers who make up the staff and readers of this fun and informative community. It is going to be a great ride.

I've been thinking of joining a design team for a few months, but I was waiting for the right opportunity at the right time. Now that my kids are in school, I have more time for paper crafting. (Honey, if you're reading this, I promise, I'll get some cleaning done, too.) Seriously, I have been wanting to take my hobby to the next level for some time. When I saw the call for a staff writer position a few weeks ago, I knew in my heart that this was the right opportunity for me. I get to combine my passion for paper crafting with my professional skills as a writer. I used to write newsletters, press releases and all sorts of sales collateral before my blessings came along. For me, this is a perfect fit.

I have been smiling from ear to ear since I received the news a couple nights ago. What better way to thank the ScrapStreet team than with a card? The sentiment describes how I am feeling right now. Happy. Thank you!!

I invite all of you to drive on over to ScrapStreet. In addition to magazines, they have a blog, forums, galleries and digi stamps. They also have a Facebook group page. I'd love to see all of you over there!

About Me

I am a devoted Christian and SAHM to two great kids. In my previous life, I did public relations for 10 years. Then I got married and became a mom. That was it. I wanted to be with my kids. I am so blessed to also have an awesome DH, too!
My interest in cards began in 2003 when my husband and I received a beautiful handmade wedding card. It felt so great to receive something custom made. I hope my cards bless others in the same way that wedding card blessed me and my husband. Enjoy!